Taylor Swift entered the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards as the top nominee and she left as the show’s big winner, taking home four televised awards, including the top prize: video of the year.
Who else took home some new VMAs? Find all the pre-show and televised winners below.
Video of the year
Doja Cat – “Attention” – Kemosabe Records / RCA Records
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers” – Columbia Records
Nicki Minaj – “Super Freaky Girl” – Republic Records
Olivia Rodrigo – “Vampire” – Geffen Records
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy” – Capitol Records
SZA – “Kill Bill” – Top Dawg Entertainment / RCA Records
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” – Republic Records
Artist of the year
Beyoncé – Parkwood Entertainment / Columbia Records
Doja Cat – Kemosabe Records / RCA Records
Karol G – Interscope Records
Nicki Minaj – Republic Records
Shakira – Sony Music US Latin
Taylor Swift – Republic Records
Song of the year
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers” – Columbia Records
Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire” – Geffen Records
Rema & Selena Gomez – “Calm Down” – Mavin Global Holdings Ltd / Jonzing World Entertainment / SMG Music / Interscope Records
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy” – Capitol Records
Steve Lacy – “Bad Habit” – L-M Records / RCA Records
SZA – “Kill Bill” – Top Dawg Entertainment / RCA Records Records
WINNER: Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” – Republic Records
Best new artist
GloRilla – CMG / Interscope Records
WINNER: Ice Spice – 10K Projects / Capitol Records
Kaliii – Atlantic Records
Peso Pluma – Double P Records
PinkPantheress – 300 Entertainment
Reneé Rapp – Interscope Records
Best collaboration
David Guetta & Bebe Rexha – “I’m Good (Blue)” – Warner Records
Post Malone, Doja Cat – “I Like You (aHappier Song)” – Mercury Records / Republic Records
Diddy ft. Bryson Tiller, Ashanti, Yung Miami – “Gotta Move On” – Motown Records
WINNER: Karol G, Shakira – “TQG” – Universal Music Latino
Metro Boomin with The Weeknd, 21 Savage, and Diddy – “Creepin’ (Remix)” – Boominati / Republic Records
Rema & Selena Gomez – “Calm Down” – Mavin Global Holdings Ltd / Jonzing World Entertainment / SMG Music / Interscope Records
Best pop
Demi Lovato – “Swine” – Island Records
Dua Lipa – “Dance the Night (From Barbie the Album)” – Atlantic Records
Ed Sheeran – “Eyes Closed” – Atlantic Records
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers” – Columbia Records
Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire” – Geffen Records
P!nk – “Trustfall” – RCA Records
WINNER: Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” – Republic Records
Best hip-hop
Diddy ft. Bryson Tiller, Ashanti, Yung Miami – “Gotta Move On” – Motown Records
DJ Khaled ft. Drake & Lil Baby – “Staying Alive” – We the Best / Epic Records
GloRilla & Cardi B – “Tomorrow 2” – CMG / Interscope Records
Lil Uzi Vert – “Just Wanna Rock” – Atlantic Records / Generation Now
Lil Wayne ft. Swizz Beatz & DMX – “Kant Nobody” – Young Money Records
Metro Boomin ft Future – “Superhero (Heroes and Villains)” – Boominati / Republic Records
WINNER: Nicki Minaj – “Super Freaky Girl” – Republic Records
Best R&B
Alicia Keys ft. Lucky Daye – “Stay” – RCA Records
Chlöe ft. Chris Brown – “How Does It Feel” – Parkwood Entertainment / Columbia
Metro Boomin with The Weeknd, 21 Savage, and Diddy – “Creepin’ (Remix)” – Boominati / Republic Records
WINNER: SZA – “Shirt” – Top Dawg Entertainment / RCA Records
Toosii – “Favorite Song” – South Coast Music Group / Capitol Records
Yung Bleu & Nicki Minaj – “Love in the Way” – Empire Distribution
Best alternative
blink-182 – “Edging” – Columbia Records
boygenius – “the film” – Interscope Records
Fall Out Boy – “Hold Me Like a Grudge” – Fueled By Ramen
Lana Del Rey ft. Jon Batiste – “Candy Necklace” – Interscope Records
Paramore – “This Is Why” – Atlantic Records
Thirty Seconds to Mars – “Stuck” – Concord Records
Best rock
Foo Fighters – “The Teacher” – RCA Records
Linkin Park – “Lost (Original Version)” – Warner Records
Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Tippa My Tongue” – Warner Records
WINNER: Måneskin – “The Loneliest” – Arista Records
Metallica – “Lux Æterna” – Blackened Recordings
Muse – “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween” – Warner Records
Best Latin
WINNER: Anitta – “Funk Rave” – Republic Records
Bad Bunny – “Where She Goes” – Rimas Entertainment
Eslabon Armado, Peso Pluma – “Ella Baila Sola” – DEL Records, Inc. / Prajin Parlay, Inc. Grupo Frontera Bad Bunny – “un x100to” – Rimas Entertainment
Karol G, Shakira – “TQG” – Universal Music Latino
Rosalia – “Despecha,” – Columbia Records
Shakira – “Acróstico” – Sony Music US Latin
Best K-pop
aespa – “Girls” – SM ENTERTAINMENT Co., Ltd.
BLACKPINK – “Pink Venom” – YG Entertainment / Interscope Records
Fifty Fifty – “Cupid” – ATTRAKT / Warner Records
Seventeen – “Super” – HYBE / Geffen Records
WINNER: Stray Kids – “S-Class” – JYP / Republic
TOMORROW X TOGETHER – “Sugar Rush Ride” – BIGHIT MUSIC / Republic Records
Best Afrobeats
Ayra Starr – “Rush” – Mavin Global Holdings
Burna Boy – “It’s Plenty” – Atlantic Records / Spaceship Entertainment Ltd
Davido ft. Musa Keys – “Unavailable” – Sony Music U.K. / RCA Records
Fireboy DML & Asake – ”Bandana” – Empire Distribution
Libianca – “People” – Sony Music U.K. / RCA Records
WINNER: Rema & Selena Gomez – “Calm Down” – Mavin Global Holdings Ltd / Jonzing World Entertainment / SMG Music / Interscope Records
Wizkid ft Ayra Starr– “2 Sugar” – Starboy / RCA Records
Video for good
Alicia Keys – “If I Ain’t Got You (Orchestral)” – Netflix
Bad Bunny – “El Apagón – Aquí Vive Gente” – Rimas Entertainment
Demi Lovato – “Swine” – Island Records
WINNER: Dove Cameron – “Breakfast” – Columbia Records
Imagine Dragons – “Crushed” – KIDinaKORNER / Interscope Records
Maluma – “La Reina” – Sony Music US Latin
Push performance of the year
August 2022: Saucy Santana – “Booty” – Arena Records / RCA Records
September 2022: Stephen Sanchez – “Until I Found You” – Mercury Records / Republic Records
October 2022: JVKE – “golden hour” – AWAL
November 2022: Flo Milli – “Conceited” – ’94 Sounds / RCA Records
December 2022: Reneé Rapp – “Colorado” – Interscope Records
January 2023: Sam Ryder – “All the Way Over” – Elektra Entertainment
February 2023: Armani White – “Goated” – Def Jam
March 2023: Fletcher – “Becky’s So Hot” – Capitol Records
WINNER: April 2023: TOMORROW X TOGETHER – “Sugar Rush Ride” – BIGHIT MUSIC / Republic Records
May 2023: Ice Spice – “Princess Diana” – Heavy on It / 10K Projects / Capitol Records
June 2023: FLO – “Losing You” – Uptown/Republic Records
July 2023: Lauren Spencer Smith – “That Part” – Island Records
Best direction
Doja Cat – “Attention” – Kemosabe Records / RCA Records – Directed by Tanu Muiño
Drake – “Falling Back” – OVO/Republic Records – Director X (Julien Christian Lutz)
Kendrick Lamar – “Count Me Out” – pgLang / Top Dawg Entertainment / Aftermath / Interscope Records – Directed by Dave Free & Kendrick Lamar
Megan Thee Stallion – “Her” – 300 Entertainment – Directed by Colin Tilley
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy” – Capitol Records – Directed by Floria Sigismondi
SZA – “Kill Bill” – Top Dawg Entertainment / RCA Records – Directed by Christian Breslauer
WINNER: Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” – Republic Records – Directed by Taylor Swift
Best cinematography
Adele – “I Drink Wine” – Columbia Records – Cinematography by Adam Newport-Berra
Ed Sheeran – “Eyes Closed” – Atlantic Records – Cinematography by Natasha Baier
Janelle Monae – “Lipstick Lover” – Atlantic Records – Cinematography by Allison Anderson
Kendrick Lamar – “Count Me Out” – pgLang / Top Dawg Entertainment / Aftermath / Interscope Records 0 Cinematography by Adam Newport-Berra
Miley Cyrus – “Flowers” – Columbia Records – Cinematography by Marcell Rev
Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire” – Geffen Records – Cinematography by Russ Fraser
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” – Republic Records – Cinematography by Rina Yang
Best visual effects
Fall Out Boy – “Love From the Other Side” – Fueled By Ramen – Visual Effects by Thomas Bailey and Josh Shaffner
Harry Styles – “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” – Columbia Records – Visual Effects by Chelsea Delfino and Black Kite Studios
Melanie Martinez – “VOID” – Atlantic Records – Visual Effects by Carbon
Nicki Minaj – “Super Freaky Girl” – Republic Records – Visual Effects by Max Colt and Sergio Mashevskyi
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy” – Capitol Records – Visual Effects by Max Colt / FRENDER
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” – Republic Records – Visual Effects by Parliament
Best choreography
BLACKPINK – “Pink Venom” – YG Entertainment / Interscope Records – Choreography by Kiel Tutin, Sienna Lalau, Lee Jung (YGX), Taryn Cheng (YGX)
Dua Lipa – “Dance the Night (From Barbie the Album)” – Atlantic Records – Choreography by Charm LaDonna
Jonas Brothers – “Waffle House” – Republic Records – Choreography by Jerry Reece
Megan Thee Stallion – “Her” – 300 Entertainment – Choreography by Sean Bankhead
Panic! At The Disco – “Middle of a Breakup” – Fueled By Ramen – Choreography by Monika Felice Smith
Sam Smith, Kim Petras – “Unholy” – Capitol Records – Choreography by (LA)HORDE – Marine Brutti, Jonathan Debrouwer, Arthur Harel
Best art direction
boygenius – “the film” – Interscope Records – Art Direction by Jen Dunlap
BLACKPINK – “Pink Venom” – YG Entertainment / Interscope Records – Art Direction by Seo Hyun Seung (GIGANT)
Doja Cat – “Attention” – Kemosabe Records / RCA Records – Art Direction by Spencer Graves
Lana Del Rey ft. Jon Batiste – “Candy Necklace” – Interscope Records – Art Direction by Brandon Mendez
Megan Thee Stallion – “Her” – 300 Entertainment – Art Direction by Niko Philipides
SZA – “Shirt” – Top Dawg Entertainment / RCA Records – Art Direction by Kate Bunch
Best editing
BLACKPINK – “Pink Venom” – YG Entertainment / Interscope Records – Editing by Seo Hyun Seung (GIGANT)
Kendrick Lamar – “Rich Spirit” – pgLang / Top Dawg Entertainment / Aftermath / Interscope Records – Edited by Grason Caldwell
Miley Cyrus – “River” – Columbia Records – Edited by Brandan Walter
Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire” – Geffen Records – Edited by Sofia Kerpan and David Checel
SZA – “Kill Bill” – Top Dawg Entertainment / RCA Records – Edited by Luis Caraza Peimbert
Taylor Swift – “Anti-Hero” – Republic Records – Edited by Chancler Haynes
Beyoncé – Parkwood Entertainment / Columbia Records
BLACKPINK – YG Entertainment / Interscope Records
Show of the Summer
Drake – OVO / Republic Records
Ed Sheeran – Atlantic Records
Karol G – Interscope Records
Taylor Swift – Republic Records
Group of the Year
BLACKPINK – YG Entertainment / Interscope Records
FIFTY FIFTY – ATTRAKT / Warner Records
FLO – Uptown Records/Republic Records
Jonas Brothers – Republic Records
Måneskin – Arista Records
NewJeans – ADOR/Geffen Records
SEVENTEEN – HYBE / Geffen Records
TOMORROW x TOGETHER – BIGHIT MUSIC / Republic Records
Song of the Summer
Beyoncé – “Cuff It” – Parkwood Entertainment / Columbia Records
Billie Eilish – “What Was I Made For? (From The Motion Picture ‘Barbie’)” – Darkroom / Interscope Records
Doja Cat – “Paint the Town Red” – Kemosabe Records / RCA Records
Doechii ft. Kodak Black – “What It Is (Block Boy)” – Top Dawg Entertainment / Capitol Records
Dua Lipa – “Dance the Night (From the Barbie Album)” – Atlantic Records / Warner Records
FIFTY FIFTY – “Cupid” – ATTRAKT / Warner Records
Gunna – “fukumean” – Young Stoner Life Records / 300 Entertainment
Jung Kook ft. Latto – “Seven” – BIGHIT MUSIC / Geffen Records
Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice– “Barbie World (with Aqua) [From Barbie The Album]” – 10k Projects / Capitol Records / Dolo Entertainment / Atlantic Records
Olivia Rodrigo – “vampire” – Geffen Records
SZA – “Kill Bill” – Top Dawg Entertainment / RCA Records
Taylor Swift ft. Ice Spice – “Karma” – Republic Records
TOMORROW X TOGETHER and Jonas Brothers – “Do It Like That” – BIGHIT MUSIC / IMPERIAL / Republic Records
Luke Combs – “Fast Car” – Columbia Nashville
Troye Sivan – “Rush” – Capitol Records
Yng Lvcas & Peso Pluma – “La Bebe (Remix)” – Warner Music Latina
Album of the Year
Beyoncé – Renaissance – Parkwood Entertainment / Columbia Records
Drake & 21 Savage – Her Loss – OVO / Republic Records
Metro Boomin – Heroes & Villains – Boominati / Republic Records
Miley Cyrus – Endless Summer Vacation – Columbia Records
SZA – SOS – Top Dawg Entertainment / RCA Records
Taylor Swift – Midnights – Republic Records
One of the most iconic boy bands in the history of pop music had a triumphant return to the MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs), and another icon got just as excited as they could in a highly relatable manner. Taylor Swift freaked out when *NSYNC got back together at the MTV VMAs for the first time in years. Even though the boyband hasn't released music together since 2002, the late 1990s/early 2000s pop group reunited tonight in New Jersey to present the Best Pop award at the ceremony. Comprised of Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, and Lance Bass, it marks the first time the group has gotten together in a decade. And Swift reacted to their appearance on stage as every fan would.
Screaming and cheering for the band, the "Anti-Hero" singer got up from her seat. The VMA camera caught Swift in complete shock as the NSYNC five stepped on stage and got incredibly excited at the sight of the boy band coming back together. Fortunately, Swift would get to meet NSYNC on the stage soon as she was given the VMA award for her music video for her track "Anti-Hero." As a nod to the tradition that's followed by fans during her Eras Tour shows, the band also presented her with a friendship bracelet. She was even more excited about that than she was about winning the award, which is quite understandable considering her excitement. The singer admitted that she could not hold back her excitement when she picked up the award for Best Pop, her first win of the night, after being nominated for an astounding eight awards.
As she clutched her award, Swift said on stage, "I'm not doing well pivoting from 'this'" — referring to *NSYNC standing behind her — "to 'this,'" gesturing to her Moonman. Inquiring what led to the reunion of NYSNC, she said: "Are you doing something? What's going to happen now?" In front of music fans and celebrities, the "Bad Blood" singer could not control her enthusiasm as she admitted: "They're doing something, and I need to know what it is." A child of the 1990s, Swift also confessed to having her own "dolls" in the group
There have been rumors that the band is indeed working on something, so she may be right after all. It has been reported that NYSNC will release some new music soon in conjunction with an upcoming movie. There is speculation that Timberlake's old boyband will have something to do with the upcoming film Trolls Band Together since Timberlake has provided the voice of Branch in the Trolls movies. The release will be their first in over two decades if the rumor is true.
Performances take center stage even more than usual at the 2023 Video Music Awards amid the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes with Nicki Minaj hosting and performing alongside Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Demi Lovato, and more -- plus, all the night's most viral moments!
While there was a lot of uncertainty about how the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards might play out without writers amid the ongoing WGA strike, one thing was guaranteed to light up the stage ... a night of superstar performances.
As it turns out, though, they didn't need writers to generate some truly iconic and viral moments, even outside of those epic musical numbers. We guess that's what happens when you fill a room with famous people like Megan Thee Stallion, Justin Timberlake, Selena Gomez and so many more!
On the music side, we went from Lil Wayne and Olivia Rodrigo kicking off the show to a retrospective of 50 years of hip-hop music to close out the night, and the VMAs did not disappoint. That's not to say all performances were equal, so we're going to break down what worked and what left us a little underwhelmed as the night progressed.
In fact, we're going to go ahead and rank all of the night's performances from first to-- well, you hate to say worst, so we'll just call it our least favorite. It might just be your favorite. That's the beauty of things like this; it's all subjective.
But before we get to that, let's take a look at some of the other moments that took social media by storm, starting with an epic reunion so big that it even left the biggest music star on the planet flabbergasted.
VIRAL MOMENTS
*NSYNC Reunites
It was a good night for Taylor Swift, and it started off right away when she won the very first award. Making the "Anti-Hero" singer even more flustered as the track won Best Pop was who was handing out the trophy.
For the first time in ten years, *NSYNC was reunited and together on stage, which Swift could not get past. She started badgering them about what this means, whether they're working on something. Everything's a cryptic clue or tease with her, so why not them?
She had the same reaction the second time she went up with another Millennial music icon reunion handing her Song of the Year. Are Timbaland and Nelly Furtado going to make more music? Are all of her millennial dreams about to come true? We feel ya, Taylor, and we're right there with you.
What does it all mean?!
What Happened Backstage with Megan Thee Stallion and Justin Timberlake
Sometimes a viral moment doesn't happen on the air, or even on the stage. One moment that quickly started making the rounds online happened backstage as Megan Thee Stallion was getting her hair done, presumably before her big performance with Cardi B (see below).
In the clip, Megan definitely looks animated while pointing, shouting, and gesturing at Justin Timberlake, who may have said something as *NSYNC was walking by. For his part, Justin appeared to be smiling and Joey Fatone had a big smile on his face even after Megan started gesturing and saying whatever she was saying.
The moment quickly blew up on social media as fans began to speculate as to what was going on, but with no audio in the clip, it remained a mystery -- for a while.
Before the show was over, Variety had the dirt, and there was definitely no beef between the two superstars. In fact, it was just the opposite. According to their backstage source, Justin told Megan, "It's so nice to meet you."
She reportedly responded, emphatically, "No, no this don’t count, this don’t count. We gotta meet proper." Insisting that there was "zero fight," the source called the exchange "very cute." Maybe she could collaborate on that *NSYNC album Taylor Swift is trying to manifest!
Selena Gomez Reacts to Chris Brown
Sometimes the camera catches the most awkward moments from the crowd, and sometimes it captures pure gold. In the case of Selena Gomez on Tuesday night, it all depends on your stance on Chris Brown, a problematic and controversial artist still after the violent incident with Rihanna.
A nominee on the night, Gomez's face summed up her thoughts and feelings about the R&B star with just the slightest grimace and upturn of the lips as his name was mentioned.
The smallest movements can say so much, and social media immediately picked up on this one, with most supporting the pop star's reaction and echoing it themselves.
MUSICAL PERFORMANCES RANKED
Shakira (Video Vanguard)
Shakira brought a whole mood to the VMA stage from those first three opening poses. So much drama and statement before the song even began. From there, we went on a bilingual journey through her three-decade career. It wasn't just the songs, though as it was Shakira really taking advantage of the entire theater for her performance, incorporating crowd surfing and even rising high above them all. With Latin music continuing to explode in popularity, Shakira reminded everyone why she was right at the forefront of the movement, anticipating it by more than 20 years!
Doja Cat
This epic performance felt like Doja Cat was trying to make a statement about where she's at in her career, which is absolutely dominating the stage. This felt like a musical had been built around her music and she was just bringing it to life. We loved the backup dancers splattered in red representing her "Paint the Town Red" look, as well as all the bad-bitch energy everyone was bringing to this. It was genuinely epic from start to finish like she's already a legendary performer celebrating her career.
Nicki Minaj
Nicki kept us on our toes with a whirlwind duet of songs, starting with the melodically beautiful "Last Time I Saw You." It's so easy when you hear her spitting her verses on everyone else's songs to remember what a triple threat she is as a musician, gorgeously tackling her own verses. It was a beautifully classy performance and song, which is why we loved it so much when she turned around and punched us in the face with an exclusive premiere of a new track from her upcoming Pink Friday 2 album. This one was hard-hitting and all about Nicki reminding us that there is no one else at the top of the game because they're all looking up at her. It was a powerhouse performance from start to finish showing how multi-faceted she is.
Karol G
Can we start off by saying the costuming was absolutely fantastic for this piece, with Karol and her dancers really incorporating the colorful sleeves and skirts to create some really strong visuals with the choreography? She had the most intricate and visually arresting choreo on the night, painting visual pictures throughout with her multi-level set and the discipline of her crew. It was such a polished performance, she definitely made a big statement for her VMA debut.
Stray Kids
After winning Best K-Pop earlier in the night, Stray Kids came out with all the elements we've come to expect from the best in K-Pop groups, injected with a little more edge than we're used to seeing. The choreography was intricate and on point as they performed, with the group even creating a vertical screen experience to emphasize how much social media has helped the genre blow up. Vocally, everyone did a great job. Great music transcends language, and this performance managed to keep us enraptured as it shifted languages and never let up the adrenaline rush. With nothing but themselves and the dancers, they made this a spectacle.
Metro Boomin
The night may have wrapped with a look back at 50 years of hip-hop, but Metro Boomin's set was all about the state of hip-hop today, bringing out four of the freshest voices on the mic today. On a smoke-filled stage, Metro mostly stayed behind the deejay booth to allow his emcees the run of the stage to showcase what they do. It was a great way to spotlight what he does so well, while also sharing his spotlight with those collaborators who've helped put him on the map. This was a very cool performance from start to finish, just smooth like butter.
Anitta
Anitta brought a whole damned show with spotlight dancers throughout the theater and all around her. She went move for move with them, without missing a note. The biggest issue we had with this performance was the fact that MTV seemed to have their camera people deep in the crowd, giving us some truly awful shots of the non-stop action on the stage. Anitta looked and sounded fantastic on this, with a set design that brings the street to the stage and then fills them with wall-to-wall dance and energy.
Diddy (Global Icon)
Diddy made it a low-budget affair, keeping the production to a minimum and the focus on him and all his guest stars. This Diddy joint welcomed Yung Miami and Keyshia Cole -- reducing him to a hype man for much of the performance, like the OG DJ Khaled. He also invited his family out, giving two different vocal spotlights to his son Christina Combs, who definitely reminded us of early Puff Daddy (when he was just meh as an emcee). His adorable twin daughters Jessi and D'Lila were a lot more fun to watch as they performed the viral TikTok dance to "I'll Be Missing You." Overall, the performance was a bit all over the place and didn't really spotlight his most iconic music as we would have liked.
Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo started gently in a beautifully designed nighttime forest vista as she got into "vampire." We did enjoy the elements of the set sparking and pretending to break down as her performance progressed, with Rodrigo and the band reacting to the apparent mishaps as if it weren't all scripted. She was even rushed off stage as a concerned Selena Gomez looked on (did anyone tell Selena this was all scripted?). Rodrigo reappeared with her own dancers to perform her latest single, "Get him back!" The vocal wasn't quite as strong on the uptempo, but we can't deny that she was living her best life up there.
Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion
The backing tracks themselves were a little jarring as both Cardi and Megan dropped their mics from time to time only to have the track make it look like this was a lip-sync performance. It was strategic and clearly intended, but those tracks hit with the same volume and intensity as the live vocals. Outside of that, though, props to both women for putting on a great show with plenty of sass and-- what rhymes with sass? Let's just say there was a lot of female empowerment going on with a whole slew of women bringing their sensuality, sexuality, and ferocity to bear in equal measure.
Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne kicked off the night with a high-energy performance that was at the same time pretty lowkey when it comes to spectacle -- and the sound mix wasn't working for us. The VMAs opted for a pretty straightforward performance piece with just a few backup dancers and Wayne doing his thing. He did make his way briefly through the crowd to a smaller stage set up in their midst, but he didn't stay long. The highlight here was that the rapper sounded great and got the crowd properly hyped for the festivities ahead. Could they keep the momentum going?
Peso Pluma
The first-ever Música Mexicana artist to hit the VMAs stage, we found ourselves loving Peso Pluma's incredible musicians more than we loved his performance. Maybe it was the novelty of a full band complete with horns and strings, but he had a really great, rich sound accompanying him. His own vocals were solid enough, but there was nothing in the performance that really stood out and demanded we remember this … save the band.
Demi Lovato
Demi Lovato brought their rock persona to the stage for an aggressive medley of some of their hits, but we found ourselves if we were hearing something wrong or if her pitch really was consistently off throughout her overall performance. We love these songs she was bringing -- putting a rock stamp on "Cool for the Summer" and "Sorry Not Sorry" -- and we loved the kinetic energy of her whole vibe tonight, but this definitely wasn't the strongest live vocal she's ever brought.
It’s music’s big night! The 2023 MTV VMAs kick off at 8 p.m. EST tonight at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, and we’re just as excited about the fashion as we are about the incredible musical acts. Hosted by Nicki Minaj, the ceremony will feature performances by Olivia Rodrigo, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Wayne, Fall Out Boy, Demi Lovato, Future, Karol G, Måneskin, Shakira, and Stray Kids, among others. Taylor Swift leads the night with an impressive 8 nominations, while SZA follows with 6, and Rodrigo, Miley Cyrus, Sam Smith, and Kim Petras trail at 5 nominations apiece. Shakira is also this year’s recipient of the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, becoming the first Latin American artist honored, and Diddy will be presented with the Global Icon Award.
The music extravaganza has a history of producing memorable fashion moments, from Madonna’s white lace boy toy look in 1984, to Lil Kim’s lilac jumpsuit and matching pasty in 1999 and Lady Gaga’s meat dress’s meat dress meat dress in 2010. A breeding ground for classic fashion moments, the VMA red carpet is sure to impress.
Catch all of your favorites here as they hit the red carpet for the 40th annual VMAs, and stay tuned for fashion coverage throughout the night.
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Taylor Swift in Versace
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Nicki Minaj in Dolce & Gabbana
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Selena Gomez in Oscar de la Renta
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Olivia Rodrigo in Ludovic de Saint Sernin
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Shakira in Versace
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Doja Cat in Monse
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Megan Thee Stallion in Brandon Blackwood
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Cardi B in Dilara Findikoglu
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Janice Combs and Sean “Diddy” Combs
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Emily Ratajkowski in Jean Paul Gaultier
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Demi Lovato in Buerlangma
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Dove Cameron in Coach
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Anitta in Schiaparelli
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JT in Mirror Palais
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PinkPantheress
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Keyshia Cole
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Flo Milli
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Sofia Carson
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Gunna
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Nelly Furtado
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Dixie D’Amelio and Charli D’Amelio
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Timbaland
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GloRilla
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Ashanti
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Rita Ora in Rodarte
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Reneé Rapp
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Sabrina Carpenter
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Chloe Bailey in Roberto Cavalli
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Madelyn Cline
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Tinashe
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French Montana
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 12: French Montana attends the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Center on September 12, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
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Nicky Hilton
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Doechii
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Sexxy Red
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Shannon Leto and Jared Leto
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Billy Porter
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Saucy Santana
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Yung Miami
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Chase Stokes
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Fat Joe
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 12: Fat Joe attends the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Center on September 12, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
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Kelsea Ballerini in Mônot
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Måneskin
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Tiffany Haddish in Jason Wu
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Laura Perlongo and Nev Schulman
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TOMORROW X TOGETHER
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 12: (L-R) Yeonjun, Huening Kai, Beomgyu, Kang Taehyun and Soobin of TOMORROW X TOGETHER attend the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards at Prudential Center on September 12, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for MTV)
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Bebe Rexha
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Jimbo
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Offset
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Peso Pluma
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 12: Peso Pluma attends the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards at Prudential Center on September 12, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for MTV)
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Sasha Colby
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NLE Choppa in Kennimer Company
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 12: NLE Choppa attends the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards at the Prudential Center on September 12, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/FilmMagic)
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Anitta
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Don Toliver
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 12: Don Toliver attends the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards at the at Prudential Center on September 12, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)
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Kaliii
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Stray Kids
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 12: (L-R) Changbin, I.N., Han, Felix, Lee Know, Seungmin, Hyunjin and Bang Chan of Stray Kids attend the 2023 Video Music Awards at Prudential Center on September 12, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for MTV)
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Colton Haynes
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A Boogie Wit da Hoodie
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Karol G in Ashi Studio
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Saweetie in Area
